Numeralshots - Reversed Fortune Arcana: Unfortunate Circumstances
by Yin-Yang Yoh
Summary: The first days of school begin for Yuko Tsukumo! Unfortunately, a mystery rises in the vicinity of Heartland, a series of rumors and missing people arising within the city, along with one of her classmates not acting like himself during the incident.
1. First Day

**Numeralshots - Reversed Fortune Arcana: Unfortunate Circumstances**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: First Day**

* * *

A woman sat in the room, closing a book, placing it in a shelf, observing the currently empty shelf that was next to the book she put away. She sat down, conjuring a tome in front of her, looking towards the camera.

"Hello there. This must be your first time in here. Welcome…to the Numeral Room. My name is Edana, a storyteller of the tales of Numeron. I am delighted to make your acquaintance."

She observed the shelves of books around her, sparkling with an odd blue light.

"This room exists between dreams and reality, as well as mind and matter, accessible to those bound by it with a contract. As a resident of this room, I record the history of passing events and tales that our guests encounter. I was succeeded by my mother quite recently, and had seen our latest guest off, by telling them the latest story of the Maiden. With your presence, I can only guess that you are our newest guest, and is beginning a new journey within the tales of Numeron."

As she opened the book, there were many blank pages inside, turning to a specific page, a single line written underneath the unreadable title, handing the book towards the camera, right in front of them with a pen in hand.

"A new path awaits for you, but as an honored guest, I must ask for a little co-operation. First detail, please sign your name."

* * *

… _Name?_

…

… _My name, my name is…_

* * *

A bunch of symbols then were written on the line, Edana then looking back to the camera, finalizing it as she turned to a new page, part of it already glowing as she leaned back in her chair, glancing at one of the books.

"So, that is your name. It feels rather nostalgic…"

As she reminiscing, she then got a grip on reality again, looking back to the camera.

"My apologies. It is just that your name resonated a familiar echo to me. In fact, I believe part of your story, has already been written by you. How intriguing…In any case…"

She then placed a deck of cards on the table in front of her, the cards all rearranging themselves.

"With that, allow me to predict the future, with these cards. I believe you call this, fortune telling? Let us see what fate awaits for you…"

She closed her eyes, the cards then stopping, turning one over, revealing a broken tower, with a lightning bolt striking it.

"Ah, the Tower Arcana, in its upright position. I'm afraid that this represents a great change of fate will be imminent in your life soon. I wonder…"

She pondered the cards for a moment, a hand underneath her chin in wonder, flipping the third card next to one that was still face down on the table, revealing a crescent moon.

"And the Moon Arcana…also upright. A card that represents the hesitation and mystery of life…very interesting indeed."

The cards then disappeared within the light with a quick swipe of her hand.

"A great misfortune will occur, and will create a series of mysterious events. If these events are not solved, then your future may be forever lost. It is my duty to ensure that it does not occur to our guests, otherwise, their tales of Numeron will also vanish."

Observing the camera, she then conjured a small light in her hand.

"Before I send you off, I have a gift for you."

The light then vanished, where it formed into a familiar shape. The Emperor's key. However, unlike Yuma's, it had contained a ruby center rather than an emerald, and the key itself was made of platinum.

"This, is known as the Relicuos Key. It is a symbol of your contract, and allows you to enter this room at any moment you may need it. Much like one of our previous guests, it is the item that allows you to unlock the door to greater power."

She then grinned, the key now in the hands of the person in front of her.

"We shall go over more details in the coming future. Until then, I bid you farewell…"

* * *

"Oi, Yuko."

Suddenly, Yuko woke up from her little nap, shaking her head, as she was looking outside the window, where she was sitting on a bus to arrive at Heartland academy. Yuma and Kotori had to leave early, so she was taking a small nap on the bus, Tryga deciding to sit beside her as they headed there. After yesterday's duel, they were given a brief orientation day, and today would be the day that their classes would actually start. Tryga had shook her awake from her short nap, both of them gathering their things as they exited. They looked around the area, taking in the sight of the school grounds, Celeste appearing next to Yuko as the bus drove away, both of them walking to their class.

"So this must be the 'school' that you were talking about."

Yuko nodded, looking around the area, noticing most people getting caught up with each other, some giving each other hugs and such, until they noticed some clouds gathering above them. Tryga just looked at it with a sigh.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, it was supposed to be sunny all day today…damn…"

"Well, good thing I brought an umbrella today…"

They then entered, both of them pondering over the weather as they walked side by side.

* * *

"And I heard, that we're going to get some cool new tech and-"

"I know! I heard it was developed from the old X.B.R.A.I.N. System from way back then!"

The two students continued gossiping over the subject, a group of overhearing the conversation. There were two other students at their seats, one male, one female. The female had a smooth, short, fiery red hair, wearing the usual Heartland High uniform, while underneath her mini skirt was a pair of short black compression shorts, doodling on her D-Pad, while the boy next to her was a messy olive haired boy, listening somewhat intensely to the conversation near them.

"New machines huh? What do you think Cia?"

The girl just passively nodded her head, not paying too much attention.

"Yeah that's nice Vincent. Could you move to the left, you're blocking my light."

Suddenly, the door opened, revealing the two students from the outside giving a wave to the two at the desks, Yuko bouncing over to Cia.

"Oh hey! You guys are in this class too!"

Cia then glanced up, where Yuko took a look on her D-Pad, giving a thumbs up as Vincent was whispering to Tryga.

"So, what's going on between the two of ya? Yuko looks even cuter, and word on the street says-"

Cia then stood up, jabbing Vincent in the arm with her tablet's pen, causing him to wince while she had an annoyed expression on her face.

"Just stop."

The door opened, where an adult stepped in, causing a whole bunch of people to take their seats.

It was a female, where she had long purple hair, two parts extending down much like Kalan's own bangs, except they reached slightly below her hips, and a third stray bang that went directly in between her forehead. The rest of it was left behind her in a long pony tail, tied together by a gold hairband. She was wearing a white and red Japanese-style outfit reminiscent of an empress, tied with a light blue sash, with a pair of red eyes. She gave a warm smile to the class.

"Welcome everyone to a new semester here at Heartland's Prestigious Academy. My name is Feiht Mille. I will be your homeroom teacher, as well as your school councilor at this school. I am quite glad to have a wide array of students participating in my class. Without further ado, please refer to your D-Pad as we start our lesson…"

Yuko laid back in her seat before taking out her D-Pad, trying to focus her efforts on the lesson at hand, while she could hear some of the students around her talking.

"Oh man, did we land a lucky shot or what? We got a total babe as a teacher!"

"Shhh! Quiet down! I hear she's one of those Ojou type of teachers!"

"Aw seriously? Well, at least we can enjoy having her for the whole year."

Cia just blew a raspberry, silent enough for only her to hear, muttering to herself.

"Men…"

As she proceeded to write her notes, Yuko prodded Tryga's side, giving a sly smile.

"Hey, after this, want to meet Hikari and Koumaru after this for some duels?"

"Again? This is-"

Yuko looked at him with pleading eyes, causing him to reel back a little, nervously looking behind him, where Celeste made the same sly smirk that Yuko did earlier, raising one of her eyebrows in the process. He then sighed, giving in to her demands.

"Fine, we'll go duel after this."

The two then grinned ear to ear, Yuko and Celeste immediately going back to what they were doing, Celeste taking an occasional glance outside to see the rain coming down.

* * *

"Thank you for your patience everyone. Normal Lectures will continue as scheduled tomorrow."

The class started moving out of their seats, when suddenly, the loudspeaker above them was heard.

"Attention. All faculty and staff, please report to the boardroom for a brief staff meeting. I repeat, all staff, please report to the boardroom for a brief staff meeting. All students are advised to stay inside their classrooms until otherwise notified."

Everyone then gave a loud groan, the teacher leaving the room as everyone started making a bit of a ruckus. At the same time, a distinct sound of sirens could be heard outside. Some students ran to the side of the window, looking outside with interest.

"Whoa! Something so close here?!"

"I can't see! What's going on?"

Yuko looked at the spirit next to her, where she nodded, flying in the direction of the police sirens.

* * *

"Alright, bring it down."

Celeste arrived, where it seems that they were cleaning up the area from what was happening. She looked in both directions, until she saw the crowd of officers and paramedics focused in one particular area. Floating down closer, she was able to distinguish their features.

A man with gray colored hair, a wick of green falling over his forehead and near his neck was at the crime scene, placing his communicator back in his pocket, overlooking the scene of the crime. He examined the body a bit closer, where the man next to him started to lose his cool, instantly vomiting at the sight, running to the corner of the area where it contained a trash can. The younger man had neck-length hair, which was a shade of dark grey, and the edges of hair that reached his neck a shade of silver.

The man with the brighter hair then started chastising the younger man.

"Ryoji! How long are you going to keep acting like you're just a beginner! You've been in the force for as long as some of our highest trained officials!"

The man called Ryoji then wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his shirt, coughing up some of the remaining vomit out on the dirt.

"Sorry boss Kyoji! I'll get that autopsy report done right away!"

The older Kyoji commander just sighed, glancing in the direction of where the body was found, muttering to himself.

"Gruesome…"

The spirit then flew back to where she came from, cringing a little at the sight of the scene.

* * *

Back at school, the students were exiting the building, them now allowed outside, an umbrella above Yuko and Tryga's heads as they walked in the rain towards the bus stop. Yuko looked up, giving a small wave to the descending spirit.

"So, what's the situation?"

Celeste turned her head towards the area nearby, a grim scowl on her face.

"Looks like somebody ended up dead here."

Yuko visibly stepped back, shock in her eyes.

"Dead?! You mean someone was killed?! HOW?!"

Celeste made a quick "shh" motion, motioning towards the people around them.

"Let's not make everyone panic. Everyone needs to go home without much worry right now."

Tryga nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. If we shouted it out right here, a ruckus could spread immediately among the people here, and it could cause massive panic."

"Massive panic?! I'M panicking right now!"

"My point exactly. If everyone starts panicking, then it would be almost impossible to calm this many people down at once. However, if we manage to get people into safe zones, like their homes, it would cause less of a panic. Police aren't exactly set up around here just yet, so a sense of security would immediately be destroyed."

The bus then arrived, the boy giving a sigh as he folded his umbrella back up, and the pair entering the vehicle. They then plopped down in their seat, letting slumber overtake them for the moment.

* * *

The scene then shifted to the Astral World, a pink Astral being getting a sudden chill from looking towards the Earth.

"Mia, is something the matter?"

She turned around, her husband on the side, looking worryingly. She nodded, her hand resonating an odd glow.

"Can you feel it Astral? My chaos is reacting towards the Earth. I sense a large power brewing there."

He then grasped her hand, a jolt spreading through his body as well.

"Agh! You're right. I too feel this odd power."

"But why?"

They then separated, thinking back to earlier in their lives, when Yuma and Kotori were still teens.

"After chaos had entered the Astral-Barian World Fusion, it immediately attacked us, but we were able to fight it off. Perhaps it is reviving itself already."

They then looked at the Earth, Mia's eyes closed in wonder.

"But the Earth, for a second time?"

Astral shook his head, grasping a fist.

"First things first. We must notify both worlds of the impending threat. After that, we will contact Yuma and Kotori afterwards about the incoming threat."

"Agreed."

They then zoomed back inside, quickly notifying the ones that they passed as they tried to reach Eliphas.

* * *

 **Back on Earth:**

Yuko was struggling with the first day's homework. She had went over various ways to solve the problem, but ended up lying back in her chair out of exhaustion, letting out a small yell. Celeste was watching from above, not saying a word.

"Dammit! Why does this always have to be so difficult?!"

Celeste then took a small glance at the notes that she had wrote down, instantly pointing to one.

"Well, what you're doing here isn't exactly entirely wrong either. You're just thinking all of these as decimals. If you were to change some of these to fractions, it would be easier to simplify."

Yuko looked at her with a perplexed expression.

"How do you know so much already?!"

"I paid attention."

"Yes, I know, but why?"

Celeste just gave a small chuckle, looking at Yuko from her position in an upside down stance.

"I just thought you might need some tutoring from Big Sis Celeste."

Yuko returned the favor, and playfully tried to punch her in the arm.

"Hey, I'm the older one!"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Now, let's try to finish this, shall we? No cheating!"

The two then talked into the hours of the night, until Yuko had fallen asleep, Celeste doing the same, but observing the windows, watching the rain come down.

"I sense a terrible misfortune about to happen…"

* * *

 _Back In Space:_

"Chaos? Rising in the vicinity at such a rapid pace? This is already bad…"

Astral, Nasch, and many other important figures were surrounding a table in the middle of the room, where they were observing the Earth, a large red area prevalent on the map.

"It's very prominent in Heartland too. However, it does not seem to be a significant threat, as this data would suggest."

Durbe then moved a small part of the map, making it bigger, revealing larger areas, which were more scattered around.

"The chaos doesn't seem to staying in one area, rather, it is moving from one area to another in rapid succession."

Mia then opened another hologram, taking a look at one of Heartland's moving pinpoints.

"And there isn't a complete source point either. For now, keep a close eye on the Earth. Switch out for shifts if necessary. The rest who are staying here shall make the observations, while some of us will be out, doing a ground search."

Everyone nodded, some leaving the tables, while other Barians and Astrals were typing away on the keyboards of the holographic earth.

* * *

 _Next Morning:_

Yuko rubbed her head, feeling a small headache from the recent events. Stretching her arms and yawning, she went over to her desk, where she then noticed a platinum object on the wood. She observed it for a brief moment, shaking her head, placing it in her bag, getting changed into her school wear. She looked at the kitchen, where she saw Kalan, along with two bagels popping out of the toaster. She gave a half-yawn, half-greeting to her younger brother.

"Morning Kalan…"

Kalan gave her a wave, propping a glass of milk to her right side as she sat down.

"Mom and Dad heard the news about the dead guy, that's why they're gone early again."

As Yuko lowered her glass, she took a bite from her prepared bagel, looking at the crestfallen boy.

"Geez, news travel fast around here…"

Glancing at the clock, she then quickly finished her breakfast, both of them walking to their bus stops.

* * *

 _Later that day:_

"Welcome everyone to our newest dueling facility!"

Feiht Mille was greeting the entire group who wanted to duel, the entire crowd outside in a caged up sky arena, giving a warm smile to everyone. She then directed everyone's attention to the control panel.

"With our latest advancements in Solid Vision technology, we are able to create holograms with mass! This means that duels are even more real than ever! Observe!"

She opened up a duel disk, placing a card on the tray, while a couple of cards were inserted into the control panel.

"Come forth, Izanami!"

A woman in a white kimono with black hair then appeared, a large projector device underneath the floor being lit, showering the card's image in light, revealing her full form, while transforming the entire room into a meadow.

"And that's not all! Watch! I summon the Blackland Fire Dragon!"

The greenish dragon then appeared from the rays of light, where she then was mounted on top of it.

"Now my dragon! Demonstrate your flame breath ability!"

Everyone immediately braced themselves, but when the fire was shot out of the dragon's mouth, it managed to not harm them, but it was enough to simulate the flames of an AR duel. Everyone was then clapping, the holograms disappearing in the process. Feiht then bowed.

"Thank you, thank you. If you wish to use this to make your duels even more intense, please ask a supervisor beforehand."

"Excuse me, Miss Mille?"

A woman in an orange tank top with a white lab coat then approached the teacher, talking to her in private while the other students were discussing the properties of the new mechanic.

"Understood. Everyone, I must leave for just a brief moment, so if you have any questions about the device here, please talk to Mrs. Takeda."

The woman then left the room, some students already asking about the device, Yuko and the rest were chiming in as well. Tryga then took a small glance to the side, seeing Vincent observing some of the functions that were pointed out by Tetsuko.

"And finally, this part is very important. There are pain inhibitors on these. This means that the higher the inhibitors are, the less likely that anyone will be grievously injured during these duels. So please ask me or any other supervisor if you want to use these things, because obviously enough, these things are incredibly dangerous."

Everyone nodded, Vincent tapping a few screens, impressing Cia.

"Wow, when did you get so skilled at using this?"

He just grinned in response to her question.

"Aunt Tetsuko has been teaching me, and I kinda was one of people that helped test this thing out! Now how about we get a small test duel running?"

Yuko excitably jumped up and down.

"Me! Me! I am so ready for this!"

Suddenly, a teenager a year older than Yuko stepped in, wagging his finger. He had blue and silver hair, which was combed quite neatly, a pair of blue eyes, and a more formal version of the Heartland High uniform.

"I'm sorry Miss Tsukumo, as much as a good duel sounds right now, the principal has made it quite clear that the device is not to be handled by students or teachers until we patch something up first."

"WHAT?! Then why bother having this thing here at all if we can't use it?!"

Vincent then had something come to mind, where a lightbulb just shone above his head.

"Oh right. They said they were going to fix the issue about the field spell function, right?"

The blue-silver haired boy nodded.

"Indeed. This means that no one should be using any field spells at this time while this here. Although, to make it up to you Miss Tsukumo, I'd be more than happy to provide some sort of-"

"I'll be the judge of that sir Todoroki."

The boy was then lightly shoved to the side, replaced by a boy just a bit younger than both of them, looking directly at Yuko from his position. He had short blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing the first year uniform of their school.

Perhaps a trip to the mall? They have a wide array of dueling areas and shops for visiting."

Yuko then placed her hand on her chin, deep in thought.

"Alright Kaz. We'll duel another time, but you're going to treat me, along with Tryga and Vince here. Got it?"

Kaz nodded, agreeing to the terms.

* * *

The scene then shifted to a food court, showing Vincent, Tryga, and Yuko tagging along with Kaz, where all of them had an assorted variety of food on their table.

"Thanks for treating us Kaz."

"No need for thanks Miss Tsukumo, although I would appreciate it more if it was just the two of us."

The girl then looked up from her half eaten rice ball.

"Why? It's fun when we have tons of friends around, right?"

"N-no, that's not exactly what I meant…"

As Kaz was trying to explain, Yuko suddenly noticed a small television hologram next to them that had been active, showing the various subtitles that were on the screen, along with the reporter's voice.

"The body of the victim has been identified as local Television Personality Marizu, a woman who has been under fire of several allegations as of late…"

As the reporter continued to make his statements regarding the incident, Yuko and Celeste were quite intrigued with the broadcast, the others taking notice.

"Hey, that was the woman that was found dead the other day, right?" Tryga asked to the group, whereas Vincent answered him with a mouth full of his food.

"Yeah, aunt Tetsuko said that her husband found it the most inconspicuous of places." He then gulped down the mouthful, speaking clearly again. "Crazy how this happened here of all places. It's not like Heartland's had some crazy events, but we haven't had an actual murder case on our hands in quite some time."

Kaz then nodded from his glance, finishing the sip of his iced tea.

"Let's talk about something else. That kind of stuff can give me enough nightmares for the week."

Yuko then responded half-heartedly towards him.

"Sorry, sorry, my bad. So, the Solid Vision projectors found at school are also going to be placed around every place that is safe to duel?"

Vince nodded, pointing across from their table, revealing one of the Solid Vision projectors on the field, where a couple was having a duel.

"Yeah, but again, we can't use field spells with them because of a programming error of having one in the deck, and all these projectors come equipped with some standard field spells. They're still trying to figure out a safe way to implement them. Although, there's this rumor going around that if you use this mysterious field spell on the projector, duelists will feel even more involved in their duels than ever! It would feel even more real!"

Tryga then raised an eyebrow at the rumor that Vincent was telling.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Oh but there's more Tryga my man. You see, during a rainy midnight, if a duelist has this unique application on their D-Pad, then they can have visions of what exactly goes on inside these field spells, like a never ending story existing in the duel monster spirit world. No one knows what icon or card that will show up on the app, and supposedly, this mystery field spell's icon is hidden amongst the pre-programmed field spells!"

Tryga simply yawned, placing a hand over his mouth and sighing.

"Yeah, great story there Vince."

"I'm telling ya, it's true! Look, it's going to rain tonight again, so how about it?"

The three boys then started arguing about the logistics about the entire debacle, Yuko opting to ignore them. Looking to the side, she then saw the familiar woman sitting on the side, along with a girl who was about their age, wearing the second year uniform. She had black and brown hair, with a couple of purple tips on her bangs, with some of her hair reaching just above her shoulders. Yuko then walked away from the table she was seated at, giving a small wave to the other two, leaving her hand open.

"Hi! I don't think we've met properly yet. I'm Yuko Tsukumo, first year."

The girl then gave a warm smile, shaking it.

"Haruhi. Haruhi Kazumuki, second year."

"Well, isn't this a lovely surprise?"

Kaz then popped by the area, putting an arm on one of the arm rests for the chair. Where a somewhat annoyed expression was etched across her features.

"M'lady Haruhi, how do you do?"

Haruhi slowly removed the arm from his play.

"Kazuo…"

"And Mrs. Takeda, I was wondering if we could have your permission to use the Solid Vision Projectors for practice tomorrow."

Tetsuko just rubbed the back of her head, before nodding.

"Okay. You guys can use it the next opportunity you get. Just sign this form here."

They all then cheered, hastily writing their names on the form.

* * *

 _Later that night:_

Yuko and Kalan were eating dinner, using a kotatsu that the family had moved in recently. Suddenly, the door opened, where the two adults just collapsed a little on their couch, Yuma giving a yawn, Kotori doing the same.

"Sorry we're late guys. Your mom's job just got really, really busy."

The news report they were watching then caught the attention of Kotori.

"Speak of the devil…our defendant."

The two children then turned to look at the TV, where they saw a woman with familiar features to someone they met earlier on the screen, but part of her face was covered with mosaic.

"So, what did you see? Was there anyone suspicious when you discovered the body?"

"No, unfortunately."

Yuma just facepalmed, shaking his head a bit.

"Akari is not appreciating Tetsuko reaching headline news."

Yuma then leaned over to the kotatsu, two bowls being handed to him and Kotori. The rest of the meal was filled with an awkward silence.

* * *

 **Much later that night:**

A small ding was heard on the D-Pad of Yuko, where it was glowing in the dark for her to see. She opened the app, where it was showing a digital clock on her screen, where it read 11:59 pm, a timer counting up to 12, the rain pattering in the background.

"…"

The clock then went from fifty-nine to zero, the screen flickering a tiny bit, before slowing getting progressively clearer. It showed a woman on screen, where it was still covered in static and shadows, the face of the woman being hard to see and purposefully mosaic, with more shadows resembling monsters chasing her. The screen then flickered to being blank, a piece blinking on her disk.

"…? I don't remember putting a field spell in my deck…"

She then touched the button, where all that came out was a bright flash of green light, forcing her to shield her eyes. A voice was then heard in her head as the light continued to shine.

"I am thou…thou art I…Thou art the one that opens the door…"

* * *

As she opened her eyes, a massive door then appeared in front of her, amidst a realm of space, demonic pieces decorating the entire structure.

"W…what?"

"Thou who stares upon this gate, if thy eyes gazeth inside, a new power will be unlocketh."

She stepped back, awestruck by the overwhelming presence of the door, but immediately noticed the small keyhole at the front. However, a rumbling could be heard below her.

"…A key you possess, but a contract has yet to be formed. Return to me, when a contract has been formed."

"Wait, contract?!"

The ground then opened below her, causing her to fall into the abyss of space below her, swallowing her up, and teleporting her back to her original position, but with the light from her D-Pad no longer there. She just shook her head, deciding to get some sleep for the night.


	2. Fortune Beyond Solid Vision

**Chapter 2: Fortune Beyond Solid Vision**

* * *

"Eh?! You were in another plane of existence after watching the app?"

Yuko nodded, but Tryga just shook his head.

"That's impossible. There is no possible way that you could just discover something like that."

Vincent however just had some sort of weird sparkle in his eyes at the prospect, looking at the both of them.

"Well, I downloaded that app thing, and I saw practically the same thing that Yuko saw last night."

Tryga nodded, a hand to his chin.

"Yeah. That's really weird. The figure in black also looked kinda familiar too."

Suddenly, Vincent's D-Gazer then rang, causing him to look at the notification.

"Aw man, looks like we won't be able to use the Solid Vision Projector until tomorrow. Oh well, we could always try then."

He then sat down in his seat, arms behind his head.

"Besides, I wanna see this whole 'field spell reaction' that Yuko had going on last night. I heard another rumor that if we opened that app while we using a projector with a field spell card in one of the slots, we could see something more!"

* * *

The scene then shifted to the projector room, where it was both dark and empty, the three of them in there, Tryga having a somewhat bewildered face.

"We are actually doing this."

"Yep! It's a good thing I made a spare key for this room from my Aunt's keys."

"Convenient. Isn't that illegal?"

Vincent gave the other boy a carefree shrug.

"Eh, don't worry about it. No one is going to be using this room, not even the staff or my aunt here."

"You said earlier that we couldn't use this room, so why is it locked? If someone was using this, I'd expect a maintenance crew of some sort to be here first."

"Maintenance doesn't actually get here until later this afternoon. We have about two hours before they get here. Now help me set up your D-Pad to this."

Tryga facepalmed, where he reluctantly helped the other boy in the set up process. He opened the app on his D-Pad, where he then opened the Field Spell hatch of the D-Pad, revealing it to be blank. They then fiddled around with the controls of the projector, where nothing happened still.

"There. Nothing. Are we done?"

"I don't get it. Why isn't this working?! Is something still missing?"

The two started arguing over the legitimacy of Yuko's claim, while Yuko herself was observing the disks placed in front of her. Celeste was watching the door for them, floating back to Yuko in a minute.

"Yuko, I don't think this is going to work."

"I know that! But I have this feeling that something will happen."

Vincent then came over to Yuko, Tryga already disconnecting his D-Pad.

"Here, let's try using your D-Pad instead. At least something showed up on yours!"

Yuko reluctantly handed her device over to her colleague, the boy connecting the wires with a giddy expression.

"C'mon babes, let's cook..."

"I don't like the sound of that honestly."

Suddenly, a bright green flash appeared below the three of them, Vincent suddenly dropping the wires.

"Okay, now this seems very accurate!"

"Hold on! Something's really weird right now!"

A green hexagram was suddenly forming below them, the area shaking as well.

"Whoa! Hold on to something!"

The three then screamed, as the light got progressively brighter, three lime green pillars of light encompassing them, all three of them disappearing.

"AHHHHHHH!"

* * *

The three fell through the vortex, crashing into the ground with a resounding thud.

"Ow...I think I might have landed on my keys..." Vincent winced, rubbing his behind. Tryga shook his head from the fall they took, looking at the surrounding area.

"Well guys, if I were a betting man, I'd say I have no idea where the heck this is."

The other two then looked around the area, seeing almost absolutely nothing. The entire area was surrounded in a thick fog, the only thing being visible was the floor and ceiling, which were carpeted like a casino.

"Well isn't this wonderful." Yuko sarcastically noted to her companions. The other two were preoccupied with their own devices, Tryga looking upwards, trying to route a way back, while Vincent was freaking out in the corner.

"This is crazy bro! This is so weird! This is so freaking weird man!"

Yuko looked around the area, motioning her friends to walk in her direction. Tryga started following her, while Vincent just griped a little.

"Oh! Sure. Just continue down the fog of spookiness! Certainly nothing can go wrong!"

After a few seconds, Vincent realized they were leaving without him, scurrying towards their general direction.

"Hey guys! Wait for me!"

* * *

The three were wandering the area for quite a while, starting to have a bit of fatigue, the area having a higher density of fog as they were walking.

"Guys, I don't want to panic, but I think we're not getting anywhere with this. Everything looks the same!"

The girl took a small break, where she sat down on the ground, the other two following suit. Suddenly, a portal, similar to an Xyz Monster's portal appeared to their right.

"Whoa…"

"Trippy…"

Yuko stood up, walking towards it. Tryga and Vincent immediately started objecting to her decision.

"Yuko? I don't think that's a good idea."

Yuko then sighed, giving a somewhat crestfallen expression towards the other two boys.

"Well? Do you have any other ideas? No? Then we're going in!"

"I just still have a bad feeling about this!"

Yuko ignored their objections, getting closer towards the red portal. The other two starting to go after her.

As they reached her however, the portal then flashed intensely, forcing them to shield their eyes. By the time the light died down, they were in a radically different area. It was an old, decaying hotel room, wallpaper peeling off the sides, furniture knocked over, and glassware broken on one side. The three then uneasily moved around the small area.

"Man, this is just creepy!"

"Seconded. I propose we leave like right now."

The two nodded, already turning around, grabbing the only available doorknob, but when they tried to pull it open, it wouldn't move.

The two tried forcing the wooden door to open, but it was no avail.

On the other hand, Yuko was looking at an odd piece of paper on the wall. It was similar to a movie poster, but the faces on the poster were scratched out, as well as the names on the bottom. There was a distinctly female figure on the poster, where it had blue hair that reached her rear end, a description that clicked in the back of Yuko's mind.

"Hey guys, haven't we seen the lady on this poster before?"

The two briefly stopped struggling at the door, looking at the part that Yuko's attention was.

"Yeah, I recognize this. Wasn't she that Marizu chick that was under fire from the news people?"

Tryga nodded, in agreement with Vincent, running his chin, glancing at the man in the poster.

"And that guy here…Gary Stunfield. He had an affair with her."

Suddenly, a large rumbling could be heard outside of the area they were in. The sounds were slowly getting louder, Tryga lifting his ear to take a listen.

"Uh…guys? Do you hear that?"

Yuko gulped, visible sweat rolling down her face.

"I feel that Tryga."

The rumbling got much louder, the area then beginning to shake violently, causing the three to fall on their rears.

"Ow!"

"No time for 'ow'ing, we have to move!"

As Yuko helped both boys off of the ground, a large drill then broke through the ceiling, another strike swiping the ceiling, and knocking one of the walls over, revealing a large hallway. As the dust settled, the two then stared up, looking at the eldritch horror that was above. The drill was only the monster's base. It was nearly pitch black, with two protruding arms on both of its sides, an uncomfortable amount of clicking being heard from its joints. Its hands were also shadowed, but they clearly were a pair of claws. A pair of red eyes were glaring down at them, menacingly, too shocked to move. Another figure was standing on top of the head of the mecha, a crimson eye also opening up.

"...Leave…"

A fireball was then building up within one of the claws of the machine, where the three then snapped from their brief trance.

"DODGE!"

The three then took off running down the hall, where the fireball was also shot at them immediately, travelling at an intense speed towards them. Looking to the left, a corridor was seen up ahead, the walls endowed with multiple slot machines. The three then dove into the alcove, the fireball passing down the hall, nearly avoiding an early death. They then got back on their feet, immediately running down the new path, but the sound of the mechanical monstrosity following was imminent. As they travelled down the passage, another blast was being prepared to fire.

"Oh crap, this was a worse option!"

Suddenly, the hallway's walls started to collapse a little, causing the machine's arm to be disoriented a little, buying them a bit more time. They then continued running, where they then saw a light in front of them, Tryga motioning them.

"Guys! Up ahead! I see some more floor!"

The other two then saw a fireball starting to build within the claw cannon. Yuko taking command.

"Alright! Dive to the sides when we reach the door!"

The other two nodded, all of them sprinting as hard as they could. The heat was starting to flow behind them, but as they reached the light, they dove to the sides as hard as they could, barely avoiding the stream of fire that came out of the tunnel. They looked around, but found themselves isolated on a single disc shaped floor, above a large height, a bunch of slot machines also present, but were the size of skyscrapers, gasping for air.

"Shit…" Vincent cussed under his breath. "We're trapped."

Tryga then glanced at the rumbling from the tunnel.

"And that means we're stuck here with that freak."

The instant he said that, the sides were broken open, the merciless mecha still on their heels. Tryga then stood in front of Yuko and Vincent.

"Stay back, I'll handle this guy."

"Tryga! Don't be crazy! You're not-"

The Barian prince then quickly snapped his head back at them.

"I know what I'm doing!"

Unfortunately, the metallic beast swung one of its arms at him, instantly sending over the edge.

"TRYGA!"

Vincent quickly ran over to where he was going to fall, grabbing his arm over the edge.

"Shit…you're a lot heavier than I thought! Don't let go!"

Yuko quickly turned in their direction when she saw them fly to the side. However, her attention was immediately redirected at the arm that was about to crush her. She then quickly dove to the side, being mindful of where she landed, glaring at the beast.

"Damn…if I only had some way to protect them right now!"

She then felt her heartbeat, causing her to stagger on one knee, placing a hand to her head as the machine approached, and a voice being heard in her head.

* * *

" _I am thou..."_

* * *

Her eyes then widened, the area growing silent for a brief moment.

* * *

" _Thou art I…"_

* * *

Vincent was able to help Tryga up, the two of them noticing the silence.

"Hey, the monster stopped attacking." Tryga remarked, where they then saw a blue glow coming from above.

Yuko then also took a look, where a card was descending to her. It was the same shape as their normal cards, but instead of a normal duel monster's template, it had a different shape. The image portrayed was a jester, whom was very close to a cliff, accompanied with a dog at his heels. The girl stared at the card as it floated, rotating horizontally around her hand.

"Hey…what is that?" Vincent asked, but Yuko ignored him, continuing to stare at it, the voice appearing in her head again.

* * *

" _Thou hast open thine eyes…"_

* * *

Several flashbacks occurred, with the words playing in her mind, the platinum key being a silhouette in the flashbacks, appearing around her neck in the present.

* * *

" _The time…IS NOW!"_

* * *

In the present, a blue aura was surrounding her, an equally blue shape forming next to her, a teal circle forming around her, and a black and white face silhouette underneath.

"Per…"

A burst of energy then appeared, the aura now spiking, creating a small current of wind below her.

"So…"

The card then glowed white, turning into a familiar Xyz Monster, the Number 100 glowing on the card's interface.

"…NA!"

* * *

 **(Music Cue: Yuko's First Theme - Reach Out To The Truth -First Battle- from Persona 4)**

* * *

She then crushed the card with her hand, the card breaking into pieces, but were creating a large amount of battle aura. From the aura, a large monster was rising behind her. It was a familiar humanoid monster, intact with the armor, and sword staff firmly sheathed in its right hip. It rose up, the mecha that was once their nightmare now standing in fear of the imposing creature that Yuko created. Her eyes were still closed, but her features gained a small smirk, a worried Tryga and Vincent watching as the action unfolded.

"…Yuko?"

As the aura settled down, the machine then drove its left arm towards Yuko's guardian, where the blue being next to her had fully formed, sticking an arm out, the guardian moving slightly to the side, where said arm was grappled by both of its hands.

"…Hmph."

It then spun around, throwing the robot into the wall near the entrance of the tunnel. It caved, where the two boys were just staring in shock. The girl just stared, however, then reached into her pocket, slowly reaching for her D-Gazer, gasping a bit for air.

"Ha…"

The mecha then changed forms, bearing a resemblance to a submarine, shooting out various other creatures that resembled small demonic machines, where one of them latched onto Yuko's monster.

"Tch!"

She stumbled back a tiny bit, more creatures attaching themselves to her monster, before a visible anger could be seen in her eyes, taking a stand glaring at them.

"Damn you!"

Yuko's monster then yanked the monsters off of himself, where they all flew in separate directions. Some off of the cliff they were on, and some still on the ground. One in particular leaped at them again, but her guardian was prepared this time. He brandished his sword, sticking the blade end outwards, the monster driving himself straight into its edge, immediately being impaled. Another shadowy figure then leapt towards him, before a quick swipe sent both of them towards the producer. It then stuck its sword up, a golden glow produced on the edge of the blade.

"Arcadia!"

Arcadia then swung his sword, sending a yellow sword beam towards his enemies, destroying them in a blinding flash of light. He then slowly started fading away behind Yuko, the D-Gazer on her face, Celeste standing next to her, arms crossed. Tryga and Vincent barely could speak.

"That was…" Tryga started, with Vincent finishing; "Incredible…"

Yuko then slowly held out her hand, gazing at it.

"Per…sona. This, is my power. The power of the contract."

She then glanced over to her friends, giving a small smile, before stumbling a little.

"Yuko!"

Tryga and Vincent then got off the ground, getting the girl onto a leg.

"Yo, Yuko! Are you okay?!"

She weakly gave them another reassuring smile, looking over on the other side of the cliff.

"Guys, I think that's a way out. Put on your D-Gazers."

The two boys then took said devices out and over the eyes, where they were then able to see through the fog much more clearly, and a giant door being visible through the fog and only viewable with their D-Gazer on.

"Okay, that's really weird. At least there's a door. Problem is, how do we get it open?"

Celeste then stood next to the door, the key around Yuko's neck now glowing. Celeste stuck her arm out, closing her eyes, chanting to herself.

"…Return us…TO EARTH!"

The door then opened, showing a white light within, as well as two sets of staircases being formed. One that went up towards the door, while the other went deeper down the cliff. She then glanced at the three.

"We must leave. This place is way too dangerous at the moment. They can come back at any moment."

The three nodded, walking up the stairs, towards the light, disappearing into it as the door closed.

* * *

They then opened their eyes, finding themselves back in the area that they started in, the Solid Vision room.

"Oh thank god, we're alive!"

The three then gave each other a huge group hug, where they then looked at the time.

"Oh man! Maintenance will be here at any moment! We need to get out, like now!"

The group then peeked outside the fire escape, seeing no one below. Then then quickly went out of the room, lowering themselves to the ground, and staying out of sight.

"Phew. That's enough for today methinks. I'm going home to sleep, I'm feeling lightheaded after all that." Vincent whined, stumbling in the opposite direction towards his home. Tryga then rubbed his sides.

"Ugh…that blow was also quite harsh. Nothing that some sleep won't fix. I'll see you tomorrow Yuko."

He then activated his Barian Lapis, teleporting away. Yuko then stared at the contract key around her neck, as well as her Future Number. Looking back at Celeste, she decided that she would also need the sleep.

"That ominous feeling…I fear it has already occurred."

* * *

 **Barian World:**

The boy then reappeared in the palace, now in his Barian form. However, as he took a step, he stumbled, falling to his knees, cringing at the still fresh wound.

"You know, if you wanted to hide a wound like this, you could at least try to be subtle about it."

He then looked up, seeing his father standing by the doorway, where he gave nervous laugh.

"Well, looks like nothing is getting past you, huh dad?"

"Cut the crap. I know what happened down there. We detected a large amount of chaos energy. I expect to hear the truth, and I know you are incapable of lying to me about it."

The boy then stood up, holding onto his arm, keeping his balance.

"Alright. The truth…"

* * *

The same room appeared within view, where the woman in red had placed her feather quill pen back in the ink dispenser, and sat her latest tome to dry.

"Welcome back my honored guest. I see that you have unlocked the power of your persona in your most recent struggle."

She then held her arm out, an object being removed from the person's neck, and placed on the table.

"From this night on, you are an official Numeral Room guest, and the contract between us has been signed with this key."

The key then disappeared, now back around the neck of the guest.

"The power of your Persona, is the Wild Card. Much like the number zero, it contains an infinite amount of possibilities. An unlimited potential."

The woman then smiled warmly at the camera.

"Let us continue down this road, and…I'm curious to what you will do with these newfound powers. Your story, is just beginning…"

The scene then faded to black.

* * *

 _The Next Morning:_

It was a foggy morning, but there was a distinct shape lying upon a roof of a building. It was unmoving, but it also quite eerie, the morning sun had already been up, but was obscured by the shadow and fog.

It was then slowly revealed, showing an orange tank top with a white lab coat, a piece of cloth similar to a cap in the gutter of the roof.

* * *

 _Heartland Academy:_

It was raining again, Cia and Yuko wearing ponchos as they walked up towards the doors of their school.

"Sheesh, it's been raining quite a lot lately. Wonder what we did to piss off Poseidon…"

"Poseidon's god of the sea, you're more thinking of Zeus Cia."

The girl gave a shrug, giving a raspberry.

"Whatever. My point is that there is way too much rain! I can't even go outside to do my training because of it."

Yuko then turned her head to the side, looking at Celeste.

"Hey, something on your mind Celes?"

The call to the female astral shook her out of her trance, where she looked back at Yuko.

"Oh. No, it's nothing. I'm just also thinking about how there's so much rain."

Looking back ahead, they entered the campus building. "That makes three of us." She sighed to herself.

* * *

 _Later that morning:_

"Vince is late, isn't he." Cia commented as she finished shading in part of her drawing.

"Yeah, what's taking him? And where's Tryga for that matter?" Yuko noted, looking around the area.

The doors then opened, where said boy entered. "Well, speak of the devil." Cia off headedly remarked. Tryga then ignored her comment, taking a seat.

"I received your text Yuko. I was looking for Vince, but I couldn't find him at his usual spots."

Suddenly, another siren was heard outside. The children all tried to gather near the window.

"No way…"

"Another accident?"

* * *

 _Assembly Hall:_

Various teachers were gathering around the stage, Cathy taking the podium for a second.

"Excuse me everyone, if you please quiet down for just a moment, Principal Takashi is about to speak."

The secatary then moved away to the left, where the principal was making his way towards the center of the stage. Meanwhile, Vincent had managed to arrive from the back door, making his way over to where Yuko and her friends were sitting.

"What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I stopped by my uncle's place. Aunt Tetsuko hasn't responded to my texts about our turn to use the room again."

Yuko then took a look at the stage, noticing something was off.

"Now that I think about it, where is Mrs. Takeda?"

Celeste, who went out earlier to check what was happening, then arrived, Takashi now speaking.

"I have a heavy heart concerning recent affairs. But I'm afraid I have some depressing news…"

Vincent was absentmindedly texting on his D-Gazer, a face of worry plastered all over.

"Answer back…please?"

The others then looked at him with concerned looks, Celeste floating down.

"Guys, this is really bad, the accident involved-"

Takashi then finished her sentence.

"One of our faculty was found dead earlier this morning. Miss Tetsuko Takeda."

Vincent's eyes then widened, briefly breaking him from his fixation, audible gasps being heard as the other students started discussing among themselves about the shocking news.

"Please, remain calm for just a moment."

Vincent looked in horror, his mobile device falling out of his hand, clattering on the ground. The other two then looked to him, both of them feeling his pain. Celeste was looking down at the floor, unable to face them at the moment.

* * *

 _Later that afternoon:_

The rain was still falling. The students were chatting about the recent events.

"I hear that the body was impaled, just like that Marizu woman..."

"This time however, it was stuck around a person's satellite dish on their roof…"

Vincent was sitting in the rain on one of the rooftops, wearing his poncho, staring at the ground. Tryga and Yuko then opened the door to the roof, where Tryga brought his umbrella, standing behind him.

"Vince…" she muttered quietly.

Vincent then spoke up, not moving an inch from his position.

"Hey, you guys remember that app I told you earlier?"

Tryga then raised an eyebrow.

"How is this relevant now?"

Vincent then snapped back, looking at them with anger.

"Let me finish dammit!"

The two flinched a bit, looking at each other, both of them knew that this wasn't the Vincent they usually knew.

"I…I checked that app again. Just to make sure of what happened yesterday. And I'm pretty sure…no. I'm definitely sure that I saw Aunt Tetsuko on that screen."

He then stood up, looking down at the ground.

"And there's more, I asked around the other day if anyone saw the app's last broadcast beforehand, and what they saw. Some saw that Marizu woman on the screen before school started. Not only that, but we saw posters of that Marizu woman in that one hotel room. There has to be a connection somewhere."

"You think whoever shows up on the app will end up dead?"

Vincent then slowly nodded. Tryga shaking his head.

"Vince, you're crazy. Are you planning to go back there?"

"I have no other choice! If I'm going to find out what's going on, then that's our only option!"

* * *

The three were back in the same room from yesterday, Vincent suiting up.

"Vincent, you can't be serious about going alone man."

"I've made my decision Tryga. I'm going in, and nothing is stopping me."

Yuko stayed silent for a moment, before stepping forwards.

"…I'll go as well."

Tryga stumbled back for a bit, while Vincent looked back at her.

"…Thanks. You have the power to protect us. It would help if you were there."

Yuko just sighed, giving a shrug.

"Someone has to keep you checked."

Tryga was setting things up, as per Vincent's instructions, holding two wires.

"Last chance to back out now."

"Just do it!"

Tryga then sighed, connecting the two wires, two green circles showing up around Vincent and Yuko, where they disappeared in a green light.

"I hope you know what you're doing…"

* * *

The two then opened their eyes, Celeste being visible to both of them, where two portals were in front of them. They stood above a vast amount of space, the only platform to them was a green hexagram supported by a glass floor. Celeste raised an arm, waves coming off of her hand.

"I detect Tetsuko's energy wavelength through this door here."

"Then let's go."

They both then stepped through one of the portals, where it revealed the area that they were in earlier. The two looked at the second staircase that was formed from yesterday, the gaping abyss below.

"Down there."

He then nodded, both of them carefully going down the steps. Eventually, they reached the bottom, but it was almost pitch black. As they reached the final step, the darkness lit up for a minute, with various torches lighting the way. They looked around, seeing that it was a ruined classroom, with a bunch of broken down slot machines.

"What the hell is this?"

Suddenly, voices from the surrounding area could be heard.

 _"Tetsuko, I know it's hard, but please, just calm down."_

 _"SHUT UP! You have no idea how it feels! To lose something so quickly the moment you gain it! It's a horrible feeling!"_

 _"Please, we need to be strong, in retrospect, it's not too bad-"_

 _"Why didn't you take the job?! We've been planning to move there for a long time! We could have made more money as well! Do you see what has happened to us?!"_

 _"Money is not the issue! But-"_

 _"Just leave you idiot! I don't wanna talk!"_

Vincent stared in shock, looking around.

"What…what's going on? Is that Aunt Tetsuko?"

The voices were then heard again.

 _"Why do I even continue to work here…I don't even like this place! Why did that vacation have to go to shit?! I've been waiting to just leave this goddamn place, and now I lose my only chance to do so!"_

Celeste looked around the area, noticing the various gambling related items dotted around the floor.

"Why? …Why did she want to leave Heartland? And where?"

A crash could be heard in the background, where they saw a clipboard on the floor in front of them.

"Hey!"

They ran up to it, where they saw it was a sign-up sheet.

"Hey…this is our Solid Vision Projector room sheet! Why is it-"

 _"That Vincent kid is also a pain in my ass!"_

He visibly stepped back, staring at the empty area.

"Pain…in the ass?"

 _"I love my brother and all, but could he have picked an even more annoying kid than him?! He's always asking for favors here and there. I'm only nice to him because he's my nephew, but he's so goddamn annoying!"_

Vincent's knees shook, slowly falling to the ground.

"No…that can't be true."

The yells grew louder in her voice.

 _"No Vincent, if you haven't noticed, WE'RE ON THE BRINK OF FINANCIAL COLLAPSE! You think I enjoy babysitting your ass for some game I don't even play?! NO! Of course not! I've lost everything and I can't climb out! All my opportunities, gone because of our family's shit luck!"_

The room the stayed silent, where sobs were heard immediately after the outburst.

 _"Is it wrong to feel this way? Just to have a little bit of hope or luck when it's not even your fault? What did I do to deserve this bad luck?"_

Vincent looked at the ground, having a hard time to soak everything in.

"I...I don't believe this. She never acted like this before, why now?"

Suddenly, steps could be heard from the darkness, along with a faint dark, distorted chuckle.

 **"Ha ha ha…shocking to hear? Of course not. It really shouldn't after all, I also have shit luck!"**

The voice sounded familiar, where their heads then perked up, looking at the mysterious figure. Vincent swore he was looking in a mirror. The boy's appearance was nearly identical, up until the unnatural golden eyes, along with dark aura.

"No, that's impossible!"

The dark doppelganger just chuckled to himself, looking towards Vincent.

 **"Oh but it is real. You hate the fact that nothing EVER goes your way. Nothing is ever in your control! All you ever had was shit luck at everything! I mean, you BARELY won the test duel to get into the school, all because of a bad day, some of your own negligence, culminating in you losing your deck, and had to use a barely functioning one you found on the street!"**

Vincent then tried plugging his ears, looking away.

"Shut up! I can't hear you! That's not what I want!"

Another evil laugh was then heard from him.

 **"Are you sure?! I can list the moments where we still had shit luck! Never had a date! Never had a chance to use the Solid Vision projector because someone told you no! You never even trusted your own luck coming here! You hoped that because Yuko was here, you could act like some big shot hero to save her life, or even have her deal with anything that came your way! In fact, you probably wanted to go alone to show how tough you were! But you were scared of your own luck to even have the balls to try."**

Vincent stood up, suddenly shouting at the copy.

"Shut up! You don't know anything about me you imposter!"

 **"Imposter? No. I am you. The shadow of your true self! Your true hidden feelings!"**

Vincent growled under his breath, staring straight at him.

"No. No you're not. You can't be me you son of a bitch!"

An eerie silence was heard in the room, a gust of wind blowing, with a couple of the slots starting back up. Yuko noticed the subtle sounds, but Vincent was too wrapped up in the business against his doppelganger. The other boy silently chuckled to himself, his aura growing.

 **"Yeah. Go on. What did you say?"**

Vincent was shaking, his fists balled, silently muttering to himself.

"You're not me…YOU'RE NOT ME! YOU'RE NOTHING LIKE ME AT ALL!"

Suddenly, the shadow's aura flared, an evil laugh resounding in his throat.

 **"That's right. I'm not you. And you're not me either. I… _AM MY OWN PERSON!_ "**

The slots then all started at once, where various parts of the machines were flying in his direction, the laughter continuing through the wind, Vincent, slowly being pulled in, while Celeste and Yuko were barely holding on.

"Hnngh…oh no!"

The wind was strong enough that it was able to pull the real Vincent in, the lights flashed, blinding them for a second, where they all were all shining down, revealing a stage that was reminiscent to a live theater, but there were giant gambling related abominations all over the place.

The shadow's true form was then revealed. It had metal cyborg like arms and torso, an abnormally large build, being incredibly muscular, showing his large pectoral muscles. Its head was unnatural, where it was a lion's face, a mane of silver, and a large gold roulette wheel on his back, adorned with six gems.

 **"Now, die!"**

He then shot an energy ball towards Yuko and Celeste, but Yuko quickly dodged, raising an arm, seeing the familiar card from yesterday descending.

"PERSONA!"

She then crushed it, revealing the large Arcadia Xyz Monster in its place, diving towards the shadow with his blade end. The shadow used both of his hands to catch the sword, shoving it back.

 **"Damn, you are stubborn!"**

The two continued to clash, until they forced each other back to each respective sides.

 **"I see…our souls are at odds. This will not be solved with such a simple battle. Very well."**

The shadow then changed from his sphinx like form to his more humanoid shadow form.

 **"The only way to settle this, is to make sure your soul is stripped away! Orichalcos Field…OPEN!"**

The area surrounding Yuko and Shadow Vincent then turned into a green hexagram, the same green hexagram then glowed on the forehead of Shadow Vincent, where Yuko prepared herself.

"Don't worry Vincent, I'm going to save you!"

* * *

 _ **To be continued…**_


End file.
